The Healing Sunshine (一厘米的阳光)

Chapter 24.3 - The Deepest Recesses of Time (3)

Late into the night, the two returned to the courtyard home and, quietly pushing open the door, stepped into the little room on the east side. When she turned on the bedside lamp, she saw that there were seven or eight spots, big and small, on him that were red and swollen from being bitten by bugs, and so she quickly ran back outside again. Saying that she had gotten bug bites, she asked one of the young girls in the family if there was any topical medication of some sort. The young girl found an ointment and gave it to her, and even thoughtfully brought over a plate of mosquito coil for them.

There were not many rooms in this courtyard home. The four or five people, driver, doctor, etc., who had come with them were asleep together, sharing the north room. This little room had been left for Jì Chengyang and Jǐ Yi, and the single bed and couch each had a pillow and a blanket on them.

The young girl lit the mosquito coil and then left. Immediately, Jǐ Yi locked the door. Then, sitting on the single bed with Jì Chengyang, their legs crossed as they faced one another, she spread some ointment on each spot for him.

"They actually look pretty scary..." Jǐ Yi's touch as she applied the ointment was very gentle. As her hand brushed over every spot, it gave him a tickly feeling, like she was lightly scratching his palm with her fingertips, and he could not restrain certain fancies from floating up in his mind's eye.

With a chuckle, Jì Chengyang flicked a glance at a place near her collarbone. "It does indeed look like a bug bite, if you don't look at it too closely."

"What do mean 'looks like'? Isn't it a bite?" She put the cover back on the ointment container, not comprehending his words.

Jì Chengyang leaned back onto the quilt, which had been folded into a pile. "It's not a bite. It's actually... Hmm, it might be a little complicated to explain."

Jǐ Yi was baffled, until his fingers touched her neck and also her collarbone.

Letting her eyes follow his action, she looked—and finally understood.

Simply visual inspection like this was already able to find two or three of those little bruises. She had absolutely no recollection of how this type of private imprint had been left on her. They had not hurt or itched... Dropping her head, Jǐ Yi fiddled with the small, round, metal container in her hand. Her ears were slowly beginning to turn bright red and burn up, and quietly, she said, "I'm sleepy."

The illumination from the bedside lamp was somewhat dim. It was obvious its light bulb had already been in use for a long time.

He leaned back in that spot, watching as her face little by little grew crimson, seeing her fingers gently spinning that little container as she tried to cover up for her roiling emotions. Through the single window, he could hear a dog barking outside, though he was not sure whether it was because it had seen a stray cat or the silhouette of someone going to the bathroom. The dog's barking grew louder and louder, and only after its female owner snapped at it in the local dialect did it gradually calm down.

Jǐ Yi wondered why there was no answer from him. When she lifted her eyes, however, the lights in the room extinguished.

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Two days later, Jì Chengyang and Jǐ Yi left this place.

A'Liang's mother had hurried over before everyone got into the vehicle, and holding Jì Chengyang's hand, she had spoken for a very long time. After living here for two, three days, Jǐ Yi was able to understand some simple dialogue, though with great difficulty, and she approximately discerned that these were words expressing gratitude.